Constipation can arise because of pharmacologically-based reasons including taking opioids. Opioids are analgesics used for pain relief. Unfortunately, opioids cause hard stools. 81% of patients on opioids to reduce chronic pain end up having opioid-induced constipation (OIC) or opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD), says Salix Pharmaceuticals.

How Opiates Cause Constipation

Opiates include prescriptions medicines for pain, methadone or suboxone, morphine, illicit opiate heroin, which doctors say leads to an opioid epidemic in the United States. Opiates change the way the gastrointestinal tract functions. The pain relievers prolong the time the stool takes to move through the human gastric system.

A person on the pain reduction drugs will have increased non-propulsive contractions across the jejunum or the small intestines midpoint. Consequently, the longitudinal propulsive muscle contractions can slow down affecting how food travels through the intestines.

Food that does not normally move through the digestive tract causes partial stomach paralysis or gastroparesis. Food will remain within the digestive organ for far too long. Further, the opioids cause the reduction of digestive secretions making the patient not have the desire to defecate.

The side effects of illicit opiates abuse begin in the brain with the victim experiencing hallucinations and later digestive issues such as hard stools. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medication methylnaltrexone bromide -Relistor or naloxegol-Movantik can treat OIC. The two medicines reduce constipation arising from opioids without affecting the patient’s brain opioid receptors.

Other reliable IOC treatment methods include the use of stool softeners, usually the docusate sodium (Colace). Increasing fiber intake, eating more fruits, whole grains, and vegetables help a great deal. Also, request a doctor if you can use daily stool softeners or stimulant laxatives.

When the stool overstays in the intestines, the body will absorb all the water in it, making the stool too hard and unable to move.

We have helped thousands of people detox and recover from Opiate addiction. Call us today to learn more 800-737-0933

When you have a substance abuse disorder and decide it’s time to seek treatment, you have several options. No matter what you decide, you must undergo the detoxification process, which involves eliminating all traces of the drug from your system. You can do that with inpatient or outpatient treatment, but in general, inpatient is the better choice because it is done under medical supervision. Here are the benefits of proven on-site detox versus outpatient detox.

Access to Experienced Medical Staff

The detox process is one that normally involves being given maintenance medication because it curbs the effects of withdrawal you can experience. This is a normal side effect of detox that can range from mild to severe in nature and can leave you experiencing pain, anxiety, excessive sweating, nausea and vomiting. Because there are trained and experienced medical staff on hand on a 24/7 basis with inpatient treatment, they are able to provide you relief by administering certain medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine, benzodiazepines or barbiturates. These medications can help to ease the symptoms you may experience while going through withdrawal.

Medical and Psychiatric Monitoring

Many people with substance abuse problems also have a co-occurring mental or physical health disorder. With proven rehab in an inpatient treatment program, you can get all the medical and psychiatric monitoring you need to ensure that you have the best odds of getting clean and sober. Additionally, your mental or physical health disorder can also be better managed when you have experienced medical and psychiatric staff on hand at the rehab facility.

Clean, Safe and Supportive Environment

Proven inpatient detox offers all the privacy and dignity that you need when you are going through some of the most physically and emotionally challenging points in your life. This makes your experience a lot easier both physically and emotionally.

Reduced Risk of Relapse

Entering proven detox at an inpatient facility reduces your risk of a relapse. This is because there is a strict rule that the facilities must remain substance free and there is dedicated supervision available around the clock.

Intensive Therapy Sessions

Another advantage that inpatient treatment with medical supervision has over outpatient treatment is that you have access to intensive individual and group therapy sessions whenever you need them. You and other individuals can also get a sense of empowerment when you offer each other support as you understand that you are going through the same situation together, which can help in your journey toward sobriety.

These are some of the best reasons why proven on-site detox is better than outpatient treatment. It may take longer than outpatient, but it will be worth it when you regain your sobriety.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has issued a warning about a new synthetic opioid. The drug has been detected in the system of three Houston people who have died recently. It is called “Pink,” “Pinky” or even “U4.”

The drug is a white powder that can be pressed into a pill form. It isn’t packaged in any type of unusual manner. Houston authorities aren’t the first law enforcement officials to encounter Pink; police in Park City, Utah, became aware of it when they were investigating the overdose deaths of two teenagers earlier in 2016.

Fatal Intoxication when Mixed with Other Substances

The chief toxicologist at the Harris County Institute for Forensic Sciences, Teresa Gray, explained that Pink is in the same class of drugs as hydrocodone, heroin and morphine. She said that it produces a feeling of euphoria among users, but can cause the person who takes it to stop breathing if the dosage is high enough. Gray said that users mix the Pink with other substances that, in combination, can cause a fatal intoxication.

Originally Created by a Pharmaceutical Company

Unlike some other street drugs which were originally cooked up in a laboratory, Pink’s origins can be traced to a more legitimate source. It was originally called U47700 and was made by Upjohn, a pharmaceutical company that was attempting to develop a new pain reliever.

The medication was never approved for use on humans or sold to the public. The patent was registered, however, and the drug’s formula found its way onto the Internet. From there, it started being produced in laboratories set up overseas.

The drug is available for sale online, and has now reached American streets. Buyers may not be aware of what they are taking or they may be buying heroin, cocaine or other drugs that have been cut with Pink. It’s a common practice for dealers to add other ingredients to street drugs, and buyers are not aware of what they may be taking along with their drug of choice.

Pink Declared a Controlled Substance

After the news of the untimely deaths attributed to Pink in 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sought an emergency order in November to have Pink designated a Schedule 1 controlled substance, making it illegal to possess, manufacture or sell it. Drugs in this category have no accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse.

Synthetic drugs are becoming more common in the United States, but many people still have dangerous misconceptions regarding the makeup and effects of the drugs. One of the most basic mistakes that people make regarding a drug like synthetic marijuana, is that it has anything to do with marijuana. In fact, someone who ingests synthetic marijuana is likely to not experience any feelings that they would if they ingested regular marijuana. This dangerous confusion has led many to experiment with synthetic drugs and experience side effects such as violence, suicidal thoughts and actions, paranoia and even coma.

Medical professionals have witnessed firsthand how dangerous synthetic drugs can be. “They’re belligerent. They’re wild. Their body’s just moving around, but they can’t control it, and requires maybe people to kind of help keep them clam, so that they don’t harm themselves or harm anybody else. You get a lot more people who get that agitation, the psychosis, the paranoia, even convulsions, and even in some cases death from this drug,” explained Dr. Kam Tillman from Howard University Hospital.

Despite most synthetic drugs being illegal throughout the country, the manufacturers are constantly finding loopholes to current legislation. The most common way of doing this is by altering the ingredients of the drugs. Because the chemicals are manufactured in a warehouse with a variety of ingredients, it is easy for creators to switch out different substances to avoid making a drug that has been deemed illegal.

While officials are working hard to fix this dangerous trend, there are some things that citizens can do in the meantime to better protect themselves and their children. One of the best is to provide more education about these toxic substances to improve the prevention efforts. Manufacturers of these drugs typically target young people, and in order to combat this they need to understand that they really don’t know what they’re ingesting at all, and that it’s not worth rolling the dice.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the country have reported that the number of synthetic drug overdoses is on the rise. Synthetic drugs are man-made substances that are created in a warehouse or laboratory, consisting of various chemicals that often have no regulation. They can be found in stores where they are packaged as potpourri or bath salts or they can be purchased over the internet from overseas. Synthetic drugs are especially tempting for young people because they are often easier to obtain.

While the drugs may claim to be similar to street drugs, the side effects are not. Synthetic drug abusers can experience extreme reactions such as hallucinations, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, seizures or brain damage. This is likely due to the mix of chemicals that they are ingesting. The FDA has worked to make the different ingredients in synthetic drugs illegal, however manufacturers are constantly changing the recipes, making it difficult for the FDA and DEA to keep up.

In addition to South Florida, another area that is experiencing a rapid increase in the synthetic drug problems is Washington, DC. According to the DC police department, they are responding to at least 20 synthetic overdose calls a day. The sheer volume of the overdose calls has required the police department to change the way they handle these types of emergencies.

“The crews are now trained to be alert for patterns of overdoses. We’ll send a battalion chief, an EMS supervisor, to establish an incident command and essentially treat it as a slow moving mass casualty event,” explained Deputy Chief Rafael Sa’adah.

Emergency crews warn that some people who overdose on synthetic drugs did not do so because they consumed a large quantity. Some people overdose simply because the chemicals are so powerful that even one hit can send them over the edge and require emergency medical attention. Some of the most common types of substances in this category include synthetic marijuana, bath salts and other similar chemicals.